S. Claire Conroy is editorial director of residential architect, CUSTOM HOME, and CUSTOM HOME OUTDOORS magazines. She has written about residential design, arts, and culture for more than 28 years. In 2003, she received American Business Media’s Jesse H. Neal Award for her editorials. Her passion for houses and design is genetically linked; her mother, Sarah Booth Conroy, Hon. AIA, was the longtime home design editor and a columnist for The Washington Post. Like her mother before her, Claire is a notorious real estate yenta, always trying to match her friends with the perfect house on the market. She spends many Sunday afternoons touring Realtors’ open houses and has watched every episode of House Hunters International. Her own house is an eclectic mix of art nouveau, modern, and arts and crafts pieces, her father’s paintings and sculptures, and her young son’s creations in Play-Doh. She is a graduate of Vassar College.Click here to view the next editors’ choice article.